Active Shooter and Armed Intruder
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Procedures and Guidelines
An active shooter or armed intruder is any individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.
Follow Run-Hide-Fight procedures in the event of an active threat incident.
Run-Hide-Fight Procedures
Run
RUN and escape, if possible.
- Getting away from the threat is the top priority.
- Leave your belongings behind and get away from the area.
- Help others escape, if possible, but evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow.
- Warn and prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be.
- Call LU Emergency Communications at (434) 592-3911 or report the following to law enforcement:
- What is happening
- Where you are located, including building name and room number
- The number of people at your specific location
- Injuries, if any, include the number of injured and types of injuries
- A detailed description of the threat, including the number of persons armed, clothing and equipment worn, their direction of travel, and types of weapons being used
- Try to provide information in a calm, clear manner so that the dispatcher can quickly relay the information to emergency responders.
Hide
HIDE, if escape is not possible.
- Get out of the shooter’s view and stay very quiet.
- Silence all electronic devices and make sure they won’t vibrate.
- Secure-in-place: lock and block doors, close blinds, and turn off lights.
- Don’t hide in groups: spread out along walls or hide separately to make it more difficult for the shooter.
- Try to communicate with the police silently. Use text messages or social media to tag your location. Put a sign in a window.
- Stay in place until law enforcement gives you the “all clear.”
- Your hiding place should be out of the shooter’s view and provide protection if shots are fired in your direction.
Fight
FIGHT as an absolute last resort.
- Commit to your actions and act as aggressively as possible against the shooter.
- Recruit others to ambush the shooter with makeshift weapons like chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, books, etc.
- Be prepared to cause severe or lethal injury to the shooter.
- Throw items and improvise weapons to distract and disarm the shooter.
After the Incident
- Keep hands visible and empty.
- Know that law enforcement’s first task is to end the incident, and they may have to pass injured along the way.
- Officers may be armed with rifles, shotguns, and/or handguns and may use pepper spray or tear gas to control the situation.
- Officers will shout commands and may push individuals to the ground for their safety.
- Follow law enforcement instructions and evacuate in the direction they come from unless otherwise instructed.
- Take care of yourself first, and then you may be able to help the wounded before first responders arrive.
- If the injured are in immediate danger, help get them to safety.
- While you wait for first responders to arrive, provide first aid. Apply direct pressure to wounded areas and use tourniquets if you have been trained to do so.
- Turn wounded people onto their sides if they are unconscious and keep them warm.
- Seek updated information and further instructions.
- Online, visit the LUPD website
- By phone, call LU Emergency Communications at (434) 592-7641.
- Watch or listen to local media outlets.
- Consider seeking professional help for you and your family to cope with the long-term effects of the trauma.
- Student Counseling Services: (434) 582-2651
- Horizon Wellness Center: (434) 477-5000. After Hours Emergency: (434) 522-8191